Last gasp heart break as Blues suffer another defeat

BLUES 1 DERBY 2

Football can be a cruel game. But as the old cliche goes – you make your own luck in football.

For what it’s worth, I feel a tad sorry for Gianfranco Zola this morning. He’ll be dissecting another game that was brutally snatched away just as his side looked to be the likely winners.

Conceding goals three minutes from the start and one minute from the end is frustrating. Yet for the 86 minutes in between, Blues were the better team.

Derby’s opener was fortunate. And they received another slice of luck after the referee disallowed Blues’ perfectly legitimate equaliser for a non-existent ‘foul’ on Scott Carson. Soon, some of this luck must surely come Blues’ way.

Che Adams was the bright spark of the side. His effort and desire to make things happen should stand him in good stead for a more regular starting place. He scored his second goal in four days by grabbing the eventual equaliser.

From that point, Blues’ inability to make the most of several set pieces, wastefulness and lady luck all conspired against the hosts once again. When Tom Ince lofted the ball over the on rushing Tomasz Kuszczak in the 91st minute, there was a sense of inevitability about  proceedings.

The return of Gary Rowett was meant to be the main event but, gladly, this wasn’t the case. He has talked up his respect for the fans all week but his extravagant celebration of Ince’s winner shows those words to be hollow.

I say this every week. Somehow, Blues remain six points above the drop zone going into the two games you’d expect us to get something out of. We should be safe. But until it’s certain, we battle on.